HOCR 2013: For the Love of the Charles

If all of American rowing has a Homecoming weekend, it's Head of the Charles here in Boston, Mass., and it's glorious. Every year I wonder if it's just something I'm nostalgic about, but day one is done, and no, it's just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

It's impossible to duck into a coffee shop or even walk 20 feet without running into a former teammate or rowing friend. The whole weekend passes in a blur of new stories and familiar faces, although over the years the evolution has shifted from new significant others or fun summer coaching gigs to babies, jobs, houses, rings, surgeries, family, and everything else. Our worlds have gotten so much bigger, but the rowing world, even as the schedule at the Charles is full to bursting, remains so wonderfully interconnected.

Every year I've been in training, no matter how in or out of shape I am, the trip down the race course remains equally lung- and leg-burningly painful, although it never seems as excruciating after, recollecting a magnificently-made turn or boat passed with teammates. In spite of myself, I'm already looking forward to racing again the following year.

And the great thing about the Charles: it is the epitome of the rowing family. We're packed into our extended (rowing) family's living rooms, sleeping on futons and floors. It's unthinkable to have a meal this weekend that isn't shared with a long-missed friend. Rowers span over seven decades, generations upon generations, and it's impossible to tell who's the most excited to be here. We're a family brought together by love--the love of this crazy sport and everything that comes with it.

I'm racing tomorrow in the Championship Four at 2:39pm--I'll be bow #4, sitting in stroke, and could not be more excited to tear up the course with an awesome crew, coxswain, and everything I've got. If you're not on the banks of the river, watch live racing here. Good luck to everyone racing and GO USA!!!

Get ready for Head of the Charles... and the 2012 Power and Grace Calendar!

The Head of the Charles Regatta is just five days away, and the women's team here in Princeton is gearing up to make the drive north to support everyone racing...and to share our amazing 2012 Power and Grace Calendar with the world!

This is our second year of making the calendar, and while last year's was beautiful, inspiring, and still hanging on my wall at home, I'm SO EXCITED for the 2012 edition! Our excellent calendar team hired two premiere New York-based photographers to shoot us on the water and in the studio, and put together little cameos that are windows into each rower--what inspires us and drives us on our journey as we train towards the 2012 Olympic Games.

Susan Francia. On your wall. Fierceness!
All images property of Jordan Matter and Jeremy Saladyga.

The calendar's not just beautiful, it's also useful to rowers and non-rowers alike: both major holidays and major regattas are printed in the calendar! Even though I see these women and train with them every day, I'm inspired every time I look at mine--it somehow manages to show both the incredible amount of training my teammates put in to this endeavor, while also showing everyone's competitive, beautiful, and resilient spirits.

So, if you would like to support our journey--100% of our net proceeds go directly to the women of the USRowing Princeton Training Center--and to hang some inspiration, motivation, determination, and just some pure joy in rowing on your wall for the next year, please buy a calendar!

All images property of Jordan Matter and Jeremy Saladyga.

You can order your calendar online by clicking here. We will be selling our calendars on Saturday and Sunday at the USRowing booth in the main tent at the Head of the Charles, and holding a special autograph session on Saturday from 2-4 at the Wintech Racing booth along the walkway by the finish line. We will be selling the calendars for $15 at the Charles--so come by and get one with autographs for the same price! You can also email me at esther.lofgren@gmail.com if you would like to order a larger quantity to sell at your club, event, or store.

Erin Cafaro can do more pushups than your boyfriend!
All images property of Jordan Matter and Jeremy Saladyga. 

If you want to see even more about the calendar, you can check out our photographer Jordan Matter's blog about our shoot, "25 Beautiful Women and 2 Frantic Photographers- How We Photographed an Olympic Calendar in One Day" here, as well as my teammate Megan Kalmoe's video about the making of the shoot here!

Thank you for supporting our journey. Go USA! (And SEE YOU AT THE CHARLES!!!)